The credit crunch has bitten deep into the world rally championship and made life even easier for Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb in his bid for a sixth title in a row this year.
Loeb, with 11 wins from 15 starts in 2008 and a record 47 career victories, is now the only active champion following the temporary exit of Subaru’s Petter Solberg.
The Norwegian, who is putting together his own team and intends to be back for his home round in February, was left without a seat after former champions Subaru and newcomers Suzuki pulled out last month, citing the financial crisis that has hit the Japanese carmakers.
New measures to cut costs include limiting testing and reducing from 12 to eight the maximum number of mechanics from each team allowed to work on the cars at the service parks.
“Our objective hasn’t changed either. After notching up five consecutive world titles, we are obviously aiming for a sixth. It’s going to be an interesting season and I expect it to be very close.” said Loeb.
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